This Brooklyn Distillery Is Sourcing Nearly 20-Year-Old Whiskey for This Rare Bourbon Blend
Widow Jane is a whiskey distillery in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood that makes interesting bourbon from heirloom corn varieties, but that’s not all that the team gets up to. The Vaults 2022 is the latest expression of sourced bourbon, expertly blended by master distiller Lisa Wicker, and this release gets an interesting wood finish.
This Widow Jane release is limited to 12,000 bottles, and consists of liquid aged between 14 and 19 years, which as we’ve covered before is pretty old for bourbon. The barrels travel to the Red Hook rickhouse before Wicker blends them together in small batches, and as always the whiskey is cut to proof with limestone mineral water from the upstate Rosendale Mines, something that the distillery touts as contributing to the flavor of all of its whiskey. What sets this release, the fourth in The Vaults series, apart is that the bourbon was finished in Missouri Ozark oak casks that were air-dried for three years. According to the tasting notes, this tight-grained wood contributes pops of vanilla, smoke and spice to the palate. The bourbon was bottled at 49.5 percent ABV and is non-chill filtered.
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Although Widow Jane was acquired by Heaven Hill when the Kentucky distillery bought its parent company Samson & Surrey earlier this year, according to the brand the whiskey in this blend comes from Indiana and Tennessee, not the Bluegrass State. “Tennessee and Indiana bourbons, blended and finished in New York and re-barreled in wood sourced from the Missouri Ozarks, it truly is an American spirit,” said Wicker in a statement. “The Vaults 2022 represents the craftsmanship of the distillers before me, the warehouse men and women, the farmers and the truck drivers and the Widow Jane team. I have the privilege of finishing and blending exquisite whiskey.”
Indeed, $250 is steep for a sourced whiskey, but based on past releases those who are willing to shell out some dough probably won’t be disappointed. Wicker has a long history in the whiskey world and previous editions of The Vaults have stood out. If you want to see how this allocated 2022 release compares, it is available this month for purchase.
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